1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a molded component retrieving apparatus, intended to retrieve a molded component from a molding machine, and to a molding machine having the molded component retrieving apparatus mounted thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
A molded component retrieving apparatus is arranged with a molding machine to retrieve a molded component and the runner remaining in an opened die after the molded component is molded in the molding machine. Generally, this molded component retrieving apparatus is of orthogonal coordinate type having a combination of linear axes.
FIG. 13 shows an example of the orthogonal coordinate retrieving apparatus. A base 101 of the orthgonal coordinate retrieving apparatus 100 is mounted on the molding machine 1. The base 101 includes a guide means for guiding a movable member 102 adapted to move in the direction (X axis) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the molding machine 1. The movable member 102 has mounted thereon a molded component retrieving mechanism 103 and a runner retrieving mechanism 104 movably along the direction (Y axis) orthogonal to the direction (X axis) in which the movable member moves. The molded component retrieving mechanism 103 and the runner retrieving mechanism 104 respectively include a molded component holding means 105 and a runner holding means 106 such as a hand or an adsorber mounted at the forward end thereof. The molded component holding means 105 and the runner holding means 106 are adapted to be driven in the direction (Z axis) orthogonal to the X and Y axes. With this configuration, the molded component holding means 105 and the runner holding means 106 can move in the directions of the X, Y and Z axes, orthogonal to each other, to hold and retrieve the molded component and the runner from the opened die.
Instead of the orthogonal coordinate retrieving apparatus, a molded component retrieving apparatus configured of a multi-joint robot has been developed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 10-95028 and 9-201849) to retrieve the molded component from the opened die. FIG. 14 shows an example of a vertical multi-joint robot configured as a molded component retrieving apparatus according to the prior art.
A base 201 of a molded component retrieving apparatus 200 is fixed on a fixed pedestal 208 of the molding machine 1. A linear shaft 202 is adapted to move in the direction perpendicular to the page along the base 201. This linear shaft has, at the forward end thereof, a wrist shaft 205 and two arms 203, 204 operated in the plane parallel to the page. A hand 206 constituting a molded component holding means is mounted on the wrist shaft 205. The hand 206 is driven vertically against the surface of the attached sheet by the linear shaft and horizontally and vertically against the surface of the attached sheet by the collaborative operation of the two arms 203, 204. The molded component remaining in the die 207 mounted on the fixed pedestal 208 and a movable pedestal 209 and opened is retrieved by being held in the hand 206.
In the orthogonal coordinate retrieving apparatus described above, the molded component holding means and the runner holding means, such as hands, are required to be moved in vertical direction (Z axis), and therefore require a guide unit. When mounting the retrieving apparatus on the molding machine, therefore, the problem is posed that the total height is increased so that the retrieving apparatus cannot be mounted on the molding machine in a place having a low ceiling.
In view of the fact that the hand or the like is moved also in the direction (along X axis in FIG. 13) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the molding machine, a guide member to move the hand projects considerably, sideways, out of the molding machine. It is therefore difficult to transport the molding machine with the retrieving apparatus mounted thereon, and the molding machine and the retrieving apparatus are required to be transported separately from each other, thereby posing the problem of an increased transportation cost and installation labor.
Further, the linear shaft to drive the movable unit linearly has many component parts, the cost of each of which is comparatively high, and therefore it is difficult to reduce the product cost.
To extend the stroke of linear movement, an additional linear shaft unit is required as a replacement.
Specifically, the runner holding means and the runner retrieving mechanism (vertical shaft for the runner) cannot be easily mounted subsequently as an attachment. It is therefore necessary to purchase the molding machine originally equipped with the capability to retrieve the runner. This causes an ineffectiveness and an increased cost. Also, as shown in FIG. 15, the molded component retrieving mechanism 103 and the runner retrieving mechanism 104 are often mounted together on a guide rail 102a of the movable member 102, and therefore it is difficult to remove only one of them.
As described above, the orthogonal coordinate retrieving apparatus encounters various problems. In the molded component retrieving apparatus configured of a multi-joint robot, on the other hand, the wrist at the forward end of the robot is so large that it cannot be inserted into the opened die, and a long hand or the like is required to permit insertion in the die. Even after that, the wrist is difficult to insert into, and difficult to handle in, a narrow space. Also, the retrieving apparatus is often mounted on the upper part such as the fixed pedestal of the molding machine, and each arm of the robot constituting the conventional retrieving apparatus and adapted to swivel in a vertical plane cannot be easily installed in an place having a low ceiling.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a molded component retrieving apparatus which can be mounted on a molding machine even in a place having a low ceiling and which can be transported while being mounted on the molding machine.